Quinta da Regaleira is a quinta located near the historic centre of Sintra, Portugal. UNESCO classifies it as a World Heritage Site within the "Cultural Landscape of Sintra." Along with the other palaces in the area, such as the Quinta do Relógio, Pena, Monserrate, and Seteais palaces, it is considered one of the principal tourist attractions of Sintra.

The property consists of a Romantic palace, chapel, luxurious lakes, grottoes, wells, benches, fountains, and a vast array of exquisite constructions. The palace is also known as "The Palace of Monteiro the Millionaire," which is based on the nickname of its best—a park that features the former owner, António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro. The palace was designed by the Italian architect Luigi Manini.

The PALACE

The Regaleira Palace (Portuguese: Palácio da Regaleira) bears the same name as the entire estate. The structure's façade is characterized by exuberantly Gothic pinnacles, gargoyles, capitals, and an impressive octagonal tower.

The palace contains five floors (a ground floor, three upper floors, and a basement). The ground floor consists of a series of hallways connecting the living room, dining room, billiards room, balcony, smaller rooms, and several stairways. In turn, the first upper floor contains bedrooms and a dressing room. The second upper floor contains Carvalho Monteiro's office and the bedrooms of female servants. The third upper floor includes the ironing room and a smaller room with access to a terrace. Finally, the basement contains the male servants' bedrooms, the kitchen (which featured an elevator for lifting food to the ground floor), and storage rooms.

The PARK

Much of the four hectares of land in the surrounding estate consists of a densely treed park lined with myriad roads and footpaths. The woods are neatly arranged in the lower parts of the estate but are left wild and disorganized in the upper parts, reflecting Carvalho Monteiro's belief in primitivism. Decorative, symbolic, and lively structures can be found throughout the park.

The Initiation Well

The Initiation Wells are two wells on the property that better resemble underground towers lined with stairs. These wells never served as water sources; instead, they were purportedly used for ceremonial purposes. The tunnels described above connect these wells with various caves and other monuments around the park.

Of the two wells, the larger one contains a 27-metre spiral staircase with 23 small niches on the side. The nine flights of stairs could be linked to the Knights Templar, which had nine founders. They might also symbolize the 9 levels of Hell from Dantes’ Inferno. At the bottom of the well is an inland stone compass with the Templar cross. Other references may be to Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism rituals.

Carvalho Monteiro was possibly an initiate of the Knights Templar, a Catholic military order. This medieval order originated in the early 1100’s and likely disbanded in the 1300’s. However, groups like the Freemasons revived their rituals and traditions hundreds of years later. It is believed that initiations at Quinta da Regaleira began with blindfolded candidates entering one of the wells. They purportedly held a sword close to their heart and descended the 9 flights of stairs. Once they reached the bottom of the well, they walked into a dark labyrinth and needed to find their way up towards the light and then to the chapel, where they were welcomed into the brotherhood.

The smaller well, also called the 'Unfinished Well,' contains straight stairs connecting a series of ring-shaped floors.

These photos were taken during my vacation in August 2024. I used my Canon T3 EOS with an 18-55mm Lens and a 55-250mm long-range zoom equipped with an image stabilizer.